


Warm Embraces

by garnetflames



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual, Cute, Dating, Fluff, Gay, Hunay, M/M, Pidge - Freeform, Shadam, Texting, Voltron, adashi, barista, florist, hunk - Freeform, keith - Freeform, klance, lance - Freeform, unknown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 15:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15666015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garnetflames/pseuds/garnetflames
Summary: Keith is working part-time because he is still attending college, he works during the day, same time as Lance, the suave barista trying to get everyone's number. Keith likes to glance over at the coffee shop but always sees that Lance is talking to someone cute on two legs. But Lance only has eyes for the stubborn purple eyed florist. (Lance is bisexual, Keith is gay). There have been other males/females who hit on Keith Kogane. Lance will have the courage one day to finally ask out the cute florist across the street.





	1. Introductions & Interests

**Author's Note:**

> Keith works at the floral shop, part-time (in Los Angeles)
> 
> Lance works as a barista across the street, full time
> 
> Hunk is Lance's best friend, who happens to work as a cook in the marketplace, part-time
> 
> Pidge is one of Keith's closest friends, does not work, full-time student (sophomore)
> 
> Shiro is the owner of the coffee shop where Lance works
> 
> Allura & Coran are also workers at the floral shop
> 
> Hunk and Shay have been going out for almost 6 months.l
> 
> Pidge hangs out with Keith and Allura, Coran works during their break, and the mice help Allura with the gardening, planting in the nursery

It is mid-December and the scent of sweet, hot brewed coffee was in the mist. Los Angeles was the city of opportunities and the home of the LGBTQ+ community. And it is a cold morning, just as a tall teen runs to his coffee shop. He manages to arrive on time and registers on the cashier, ties his apron and fixes his short, brown hair. He looks around to look for his supervisor or his partner for the shift and he looks to see that his name tag is not on his apron.

"Damn, I'll have to find it before people come in." He searches for his tag and he finds it on the floor. He straightens up and walks to the door and flips the cafe sign to 'OPEN'. He smiled and he just waited for customers to storm in, it was a Monday and it was usually busy. It wasn't until his supervisor appeared and he had a pile of cups and straws in his hands.

"Hey Lance, can you put these on the tables? And can you see if the floral shop across the street has more daisies to put outside?" A tall, very fit older man said as he looked at Lance who just groaned and he leaves his duties to go to the flower shop. Lance just wanted to go back home to his beloved his loved one, his bed. He walked on the crossroad and he opened the door to see Allura, one of the workers with some of the mice. Lance smiled and he waved at a man with a gorgeous mustache who is shelving succulents by size and the price.

"Hey Allura, Shiro wanted to know if you've restocked those daisies for us?"

"Oh yes, they're in the back. You can go get them, Keith is back there I believe. He's organizing the roses into bouquets, he needs the extra hours for school and he gladly accepted." Lance walks to the back and he looks for Keith, he just peeks into every room to see if that mullet head is in any of them.

"Can I help you? Lance." Lance jumps and he hits his head on one of the hanging plants and he falls into a pile of wilting dandelions. Keith just stares at him, waiting for Lance to give him so sort of answer. Lance panicked to get up and he just wipes the dead flowers off of him and he glares at Keith.

"I just needed to pick up some daisies for the store across the street and Allura said that you were back here." Lance said as he just folded his arms and glaring at Keith. Keith just puts the dandelions aside and he motions Lance to come with him to show him where the daisies are and they try and create small talk.

"So Keith, how's school been treating you?"

"Unfortunately, I have a presentation to give to my class of 250 about the decomposition of a corpse and the effect of insects on the decomposition, soil as well."

"What the hell are you majoring in?"

"Forensics and a minor in astronomy." Keith said as he looked at Lance, grabbing the daisies; handing them to Lance.

"Well, thanks for the help bud. I need you to come with me to the shop to drop these off." Keith nodded and they both headed to the door and they managed to make it back. Shiro turned and he saw the flowers. Lance was arranging them the way it would look appealing to the customers. Keith waved at Shiro and departed. 

"Is he always like this?" Shiro turns to see Lance.

"What do you mean?"

"Having sudden swings and temper. He just gave me a stern attitude and he was forced to help me. And he just seems like the biggest jerk I'll ever meet." Lance said as he just shrugged and he finished his duty. He just waited for customers to come in and out, but managed to keep himself busy through different tasks such as listing the specials and the different food items they would be serving for the day or the rest of the week or refilling the sugar and straw stations by the exit.

*Time Passes*

As the day started to come to a close, Lance started to clean up and entered the mal-tempered college student. This was unexpected from him and Lance just saw him and returned back to the register. Keith took out his wallet and was taking out some cash for coffee.

"What do you want?"

"Do you talk like that to all your customers?"

"Of course not, I actually know who you are and you're the only one here." Lance responded back as he was waiting for Keith to order what he wanted. Keith just glare once again and processed with his ordering.

"Give me a vanilla ice brewed espresso with some caramel drizzled on it. And one of those ham sandwiches with cheese to go." He said as he placed the money on the register and sat down at one of the tables. Lance just took the money and he kept the change and the receipt. He moved at a quick pace: making the base, combining the ice, milk and the cream; then covering the cold drink with caramel and lastly making the requested sandwich. Keith sat down staring at his phone, he was on his social media, passing different posts, liking some and commenting on others. Keith was actually on his break and when he was on his breaks, he would order from the shop across his job and he was known for doing so and Lance was accustomed to the attitude of the older teen.

"Keith, your order is ready. It's gonna get cold."

"Yeah yeah. I got it. I'll go get it. I just need to talk to Shiro then I'll leave." There was no eye contact at all during this, they did not exactly have a friendly relationship, it was more like they were acquaintances. Keith and Shiro talked as Lance was packing, he was starting to head home, Shiro was the one to close up and Lance had to babysit his siblings which were a daily struggle.

"Shiro, I'm heading home. Night, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Nice job today Lance, but before you leave I have some news for you."

"Oh, okay." Shiro pulls Lance to the side and he tells him that he has planned for him to meet someone he might be interested in, like a blind date. Shiro and Adam are planning the double date and Shiro wanted Lance to meet someone because he is too busy. This date was months away because Shiro and Adam were celebrating their eighth anniversary as a couple.

"Really, you found someone! Thank you so much, my game hasn't been so good after I started working full-time here."

"No problem, you deserve it and I think that you should actually get to know the person, here's their number if you ever want to know who it is." Shiro writes down the number and he leaves out the name of the mysterious person. Lance has identified himself as bisexual and Shiro knows this. Lance was so cheerful when he heard that Shiro had found him a love interest, his last lover, unfortunately, abused him, physical and verbal abuse. Allura had helped him to get out of that relationship and he never looked back. 

"Thanks again, Shiro!" Lance said as he waved with a cheerful smile and left the cafe. He got into his blue jeep two seaters and drove back home to finally sleep for the following day.


	2. Matched by Coincidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is Keith's POV, just a summary of what his regular day is like and he will be interacting with Pidge in this chapter. And Keith will get an unexpected phone call from someone he has been messaging for several months. Keith also walks Lance home before meeting up with Pidge at her dorm room. Keith and Pidge are meeting up for a study session for their upcoming final.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith works at the floral shop, part-time (in Los Angeles)
> 
> Lance works as a barista across the street, full time
> 
> Hunk is Lance's best friend, who happen to work as a cook in the marketplace, part-time
> 
> Pidge is one of Keith's closest friends, does not work, full-time student (sophomore)
> 
> Shiro is the owner of the coffee shop where Lance works
> 
> Allura & Coran are also workers at the floral shop
> 
> Hunk and Shay have been going out for almost 6 months.l
> 
> Pidge hangs out with Keith and Allura, Coran works during their break, and the mice help Allura with the gardening, planting in the nursery
> 
> *some swearing will be in this chapter, just as a heads up*

Keith's POV

Understanding what college life is can be a bit stressful, going from class to class, trying to make it better. Getting up late to go to class, the large piles of assignments accumulating on my desk as I speak. I just want to make my brother proud. After he bought that coffee shop, he dropped out of college and put his time into this business. But I went straight into higher education and will be majoring in forensic science and minoring in astronomy. I have Pidge who goes to school with me and she happens to be a sophomore. She is a full-time student for the time being and she's talked about looking for a job at the end of the year. I suggested that she come to work with me but she wants to get it done by her own means. I don't blame her but it would make it easier for her, but whatever she wants. Don't get me wrong, I like my job, it makes a good $12.50 an hour but I see Lance from the cafe across the street.

"Keith, could you help me with the unloading of a new shipment?"

"Yeah, I'm on it, Coran. I just have to close up the store."

After turning off the 'OPEN' neon sign in the front of the shop, I walked to the back and grabbed a clipboard that contained details of the shipment. There are roses, petunias, lilacs, sunflowers, daisies, marigolds, jasmine, lotus, and irises. There were different shades of the rainbow, shades of blue, shades of purple, shades of yellow, shades of red, shades of orange, and shades of white. At this point in my life, there were four things keeping me alive: my job, school, Pidge, and Shiro. I have started to discover parts of myself I didn't want to find. Deceit, betrayal, and self-hate to be last. I often feel insecure about my appearance and I always receive compliments from young girls and sometimes older men who come to the shop. Some saying, 'Damn, you are a good looking guy for your age,' or the typical 'You busy after your shift good lookin', I wanna take you out?' It all just sounds the same to me and that is just ugh. It annoys me a lot, unfortunately.

"Hey Coran, it all checks out. Do you know when my next paycheck will come in?"

"Oh, you'll actually be getting it on Thursday."

"Great, that's good to hear. Well, if you need me to stay later-"

"Actually, everything is done for today. Its been a long time since we were let early."

"Tell me about it, its been about 3 or 4 months. I can finish studying for my midterms."

"Good night Keith. Get home safe."

"Same to you too Coran. I'll see you tomorrow, I actually might be late for my shift. Pidge wants me to go to her place to talk about something."

"Its fine, just make sure that you stay later to make sure you meet your hours needed for your paycheck."

"Okay. Bye." I took off my name tag and my dirt-filled apron placed it on the rack and left the floral shop. As I was walking out I saw Lance closing up and I walked towards him and nudged him to get his attention.

"So are you done for the day too?"

"Yeah, I'm guessing you're done. Do you wanna walk me home?"

"I don't mind. I have to study for my midterms and I have the time."

"Cool. So did anyone catcall you today?" I looked up at Lance and just stared at him. I just surprised me that he would be concerned about any interactions with the customers.

"What? Did I ask something I shouldn't have?"

"No...it just seems unlike you to be asking something like that. And why would be matter to you? You don't really seem to be the type to be worried about someone like me."

"Keith. Come on, I was just wondering because whenever I'm on my break, I stare to the floral shop and there always happens to be a girl or guy commenting on your looks or something relating to you. Can't we get along?"

"I mean if you want to. And to answer your question, a couple of people did but Allura or the mice intervened. Coran would just glare at them until they paid for their orders and left. He also would just rub my shoulder with his hand as a sign as reassurance. I have people to protect me from those remarks."

"That's good. Did Allura leave already?"

"Yeah, she left a couple hours ago. Oh, that reminds me." I take off my backpack and take out a box and hand it to Lance.

"Open it." Lance opens it and it is an invitation to a party that was being thrown by the Broganes. In the box are a long sleeve shirt, a blue bowtie, and a pair of slacks. They were ironed very neat and folded very nicely.

"Woah, Woah, Woah. What's this for?"

"Well, I don't know if Shiro has told you but we are throwing a party for Shiro and Adam's eight year anniversary. And I wanted to make sure that you were going and had something to wear. I won't have anyone to talk to other than Pidge and she's still a kid and you're around my age."

"Oh...thanks but you didn't have to get these things for me. I have clothes!"

"Just take it and stop whining. It is starting to get cold." We start walking down the street and there was silence. It wasn't until we got to the end of the street that I broke the silence.

"So....Lance....you must be getting all the girls with the kind of job you have."

"I wish but I'm talking to someone."

"That's good to hear. Are they a customer of yours?"

"Actually it's strange because I haven't met them face-to-face."

"So, you don't know who they are?"

"Nope. But they've been telling me about how they are attending the same college you're going to."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. I just think that it could happen this time. They've been there for me when I've needed them. I can confide in them for anything."

"Sounds like you only need them for convenience."

"Don't pull that card on me. You should know by now how I feel about relationships."

"Sh*t sorry. I forgot. I didn't mean to bring that up. I just hope that you are recovering quickly."

"The person I'll talking to is actually helping me with that a lot."

"Hopefully this person doesn't end up being used a rebound from your feelings for Allura."

"Keith."

"S-sorry! Damn, I did it again. I'm such an a**hole."

"No, no. It's fine." Lance just looked down at me and smiled.

"What's with that stupid grin on your face barista?"

"You're jealous aren't you?" I would not! Never! I DO NOT HAVE FEELINGS FOR LANCE. I can't. Lance is losing his mind at this point. I would never, he's currently talking to someone and after his last relationship, I've been there as his shoulder to cry on. I just stopped walking and stood there, my face red as those red roses in the shop. I rapidly lifted my head and went up to Lance and punched his arm. He winced in pain and tried to catch up with me.

"Jesus Lance, what do you take me for? I don't have feelings for you PERIOD. Besides like you said, you are currently talking someone who seems like a nice person. So get that through your thick skull. Got it?"

"Geez, sorry. I didn't expect you to be that feisty about that comment. So you wouldn't have feelings for me if I wasn't seeing anyone?"

"Can we drop this please?"

"Yeah, sorry. But to tell you the truth, the person that I'll talk to is a real hot head. I mean I don't really mind that but he can get so jealous." I stopped walking and just smiled...I had caught Lance off guard.

"So.... it's a 'he'?" I flashed a smirk at Lance who was now starting to change in attitude.

"I didn't mean that. Shoot. You just distracted me and put words in my mouth! You-you little-".

"We're here Lance. It's getting late. I should be heading to Pidge's place. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I started to head back and Lance reaches out for him, grabs his hand.

"Lance what are you-"

"I just wanted to thank you for walking me home for the first time in a while. I'll see you tomorrow." Lance hugs him and me, shocked for a moment but started to wrap his arms around Lance. The two parted and I just smiled and waved goodbye to Lance as he entered his first-floor apartment. Keith started to walk back to the path of the flower shop and started to head to Pidge. It was only 7:30 PM and I wanted to study for my midterms. But there was one thing on my mind, it would cloud my judgment and my love life at this point. It was Lance. As I said earlier, I would never develop feelings for Lance but I was lying to myself. I knew that every chance that he could get, I would look or glance over at the cafe and just watch Lance work. But I knew that he couldn't because he was already talking to someone. Shiro had given me someone's number a couple of months ago and I was starting to talk to him....he hasn't told me his name for anything or sent me any pictures. But he said that he doesn't live that far from the university I go to or the dormitories. Someday he might just show up to the floral shop or might have been there already, I don't really know much about him. We just ask each other about our day and started to ramble off on about nonsense. He just started asking questions about myself: my hobbies, my interests, my schedule, my friends and my family. Fortunately, I have my mom who lives within city limits and she is currently working as a teacher for space camps held in Los Angeles every year. He's so caring, concerned, and wonderful....and he's also a charmer. But he would like to make a joke and saying that he could get with anyone and I would always get so defensive about those kinds of comments.

"Hey Pidge, I'm on my way up. Could you make sure that you have your table cleaned for that study session? Thanks." I reached Pidge's dorm and before I could even knock, she swung the door open.

"Welcome to my humble abode. Sorry if there's a mess. My brother was here earlier with his friends. And they left pizza if you wanted some and there are some drinks in the fridge and anything else in it is yours. Mi casa es su casa. My house is your house. I've been taking some Spanish classes."

"I can see that. Thanks for having me. Are you up for studying?"

"You know I am. So I already started and color coded some of the basics. Combat techniques in green, victimology are in pink and the different cases are in the different colors: domestic violence is in yellow, home invasions are in red, homicides are in blue, murders and rapes are in purple and finally, allegations of any form or other forms of basics are in orange."

"Wow, you are living study guide. You might as well be the professor. I brought some of my notes and my notes. I should have brought my laptop, it had all of my other notes from the lectures."

"We have enough. I'm getting a slice of pizza, do you want one?"

"Sure, can I have something to drink, I'll go get it from the fridge."

"Yeah, there at the bottom, all we got is some water and two different brands of soda." As I make my way to the fridge, my head starts to cloud with images of Lance and I was just smiling. I don't understand why I was seeing Lance. I was already talking to someone and so did he. Its wrong I know but....it feels familiar. I snapped back to reality when I dropped a can of soda on the floor and Pidge was just staring at me.

"Keith....are you okay? Did something happen?" She just started to smile and finger-gunned me.

"It's him, isn't it. That guy you've been talking about. Or was it Lance? Did something happen between you and Lance? Did you talk to him? Did he say something to you? What? Tell me!"

"Damn. I didn't even notice I did that. I'm really sorry." I was trying to divert to another subject but Pidge was wanting to know all of the gossips between me and Lance and that guy I'm seeing.

"I'm not going to tell you. I'll only tell you if and when you actually pass midterms. But I walked Lance to his apartment and he was talking about some guy he started talking to. This guy's a hot head and he seems to get jealous, he attends this university. He must be someone we know."

"That's some news. Lance is talking to a guy after that rough relationship and you started talking to someone too. He seems like a nice guy and everything but he likes to make jokes and is very flirtatious. This guy that you're talking to sounds like Lance....that can't be a coincidence. But it could happen."

"Someone who is like Lance. I couldn't live with someone like that. But here's the issue, I don't know his name, I don't know what he looks like, his favorite color, his hobbies or anything about his life to be exact. Maybe I should start asking him some questions. I'll talk to him during the study session. But the only person who knows who he is would be Shiro. And that means he gave my number to him....we've never talked over the phone before. I should check if its okay with him."

"You should be able to get some information about him. You should write all of it down, I mean if he is willing to answer at all."

"I'll try that. We should probably start." I sit and open the book that is just illuminating with highlighter markups. The digging of knowledge had begun with several trivia questions, pop quizzes and flashcards as the night transpired.

*Hours pass and it is close to midnight almost one*

Understanding Criminal Justice was an obstacle all of its own. I was starting to fall asleep until Pidge pulled out the coffee and sugar. I was just on the couch and struggling to stay up but the sound to wake me up was my phone's ringtone. I glanced at the number on my screen and it was the number of that guy was talking to. He was calling me!!! It was a moment I will never forget. I can't express my emotions or what I felt.

"Pidge!!! It's him!"

"AHHH! Who?"

"The guy I've been seeing! He's calling me. Right here, right now!"

"ANSWER IT!"

"I can't! I don't want to!"

"I'll answer it!"

"You will not! Pidge, give me my phone back!"

"And done." Pidge had put the call on speaker and we could hear his voice. His voice was raspy as if he was going to sleep by now.

"Hello? Hello? Hey, babe are you there?"

"BABE?!"

"Don't say another word!"

"Hey, is that you? Babe. Hey. It's nice to finally hear your voice. I mean even its a bit deeper due to the phone. But its some confirmation."

"Sorry about what happened right now. I'm actually at a study group right now. It's strange that you would be calling me at all. You've never done it before."

"I know but I just wanted to talk to someone and I figured that you would be up because Hunk wouldn't exactly be up. He works earlier than I do. How was work?"

"It was the same as usual. Some customers started to fish for compliments and dates. I didn't really say anything. But my two co-workers helped me with those customers."

"That's a relief. How are you?"

"I'm a bit tired and I was just about to knock out before you ended up calling me. I had some pizza, soda and some coffee. But I managed to walk a friend home. He just needed someone to talk to I guess. It was strange because we hadn't done that for almost months."

"I don't need him to take you from me. This guy seems like someone who is just looking for someone to-"

"Hey, we talked about this. He's just a friend. Plus, he's already talking to someone and he seems very happy about them."

"Good. Sorry babe. You know how I get."

"Hey is it alright if I could ask you some questions?"

"Sure, I asked you so many last time I talked to you so yeah. Go ahead."

"I wanted to know if you were living somewhere near where I live in downtown Los Angeles."

"Babe, you already know this. Do you wanna finally want to meet up?"

"You know that rule, we can't meet until their anniversary comes up."

"I know....but we've dating-well-seeing each other for the past two maybe three months."

"I understand....I really want to see you but we can't. We promised."

"Okay....do you have any pets?"

"Yeah, well....my family lives on a ranch and they have several animals but I do have a cow."

"A cow? And your family owns a ranch? That's sounds very exciting. Hopefully, one day you can take me there."

"I will. You can meet my folks and my brothers and sisters. It's gonna be a surprise."

"Hey. I was wondering....where do you work?"

"Well. I work as a barista in a cafe not too far from where I live or where you go to school."

"Really???"

"Yeah. I'm don't really go to school and if I did, I would know what you look like. You don't know this but I want to hold you, kiss you....tell you how much I love you."

"I love you too. I want to just hold your hand and want your arms around me."

"I really love you. You know that."

"I know." I start to laugh and I just wanted to know how this boy was desperate.

"Babe, I just love your laugh. Gosh, I love you!" I just smiled and looked at Pidge.

"Keith....its been almost an hour, we still have a third of the book to look over. And we still have some pizza left."

"Crap, you're right."

"You have to go back to studying."

"Hopefully you can call again soon."

"I will. I'll miss listening to your voice. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye." He hangs up the phone and I have this goofy smile on my face and Pidge just threw a book at me. It hits me and lands in my lap.

"Keith, come on. I want to be able to finish this before noon. Please."

"Okay. Okay, looks like I'm not heading to my dorm for the rest of the night." We continue to study and this actually continues until four in the morning. It gave us eight hours of sleeping, eating, doing other things before the midterms. We slept from four to about nine and we were eating some cereal and some eggs.

"Keith....dang. We slept late as ever. It was very strange to see that he had called you last night."

"I know, hopefully, it won't happen again when I'm in your place again."

"I hope so." We both sat there and just finished eating and I went straight to my dorm, showered and changed my outfit for the day. We met up and on our way studying to make sure that we knew what was going to be on that midterm. And we headed to our class and we just stared at each other and hoped for the best.


End file.
